Mothership - Titan

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"Evac, huh? Sounds like a good story. Well safe travels and see you soon," Finn replies.
Finn gently reiterates his interest in the prior offer of sustenance. Then he settles in to wait for the voice.
 
OOC: You might have missed #476. If so we'll say #478 occurred before it
 
OOC: Crap, I did miss a post. Allow me to gently retcon a little...

Finn dutifully records the strange utterance. He then uploads it to the mission channel.
".....iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii...." To say it sounded "like a woman" might be generous as the distortion is very extreme.
"That's what I've got so far. I'm going to see if we can do a little signal analysis since it sounds like you're pretty busy on your end."
Finn turns to Danielle and the others. "Huh, no clue what that is, yet. While I poke my stupid monkey nose into this, maybe you guys can do a little audio processing. Check for any sounds that are faint, sped up, slowed down, reversed, etc. Listen for patterns. I know you researchers are good at analyzing data to find signals amidst the noise.

"In the meantime..."

Finn approaches the console, and gives it a brief inspection. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"
 
"Alright we'll get to work" Dr. Fuchs says back to Finn. He turns to the others.

"Analyse the voice, should be easy enough. I'll get our friend some of my famous soup"

He heads over to the kitchen while the others take out their tablets waiting for the noise.

When Finn speaks over the console, immediately afterward the static interference spikes and distorts the weather displays.
 
Lassie heads towards the AI Core's housing, to attempt to retrieve the three modules.
When he arrives Lassiter sees that all the blue crystal memory cores are clearly labelled in their sockets around the AI core. He wastes no time collecting them. The ceiling rumbles quite a bit for about a minute and part of it comes loose and crashes to the ground. Lassiter easily steps aside in time given the advanced warning.
 
When Finn speaks over the console, immediately afterward the static interference spikes and distorts the weather displays.
"Huh, did anyone catch that?" Finn turns back to the console. "We're just getting static and interference! If someone can hear me, send three pulses!"
 
"Huh, did anyone catch that?" Finn turns back to the console. "We're just getting static and interference! If someone can hear me, send three pulses!"
There is an odd straining sound and Finn sees the left wall of the building warp slightly. He then gets three static pulses through the console.
 
Finn's eyes bulge at the sight of the left wall. He speaks again to the console. "OK, I think I know what's going on. Please don't try to come through at this moment. I'm going to try to help you, but please be patient and don't try to come through yet. Just pulse lightly now because I'm seeing some spatial distortion here and it's a little worrisome.

Finn collects himself and glances at the researchers to see how they have reacted to this. "This is actually great; we can communicate. How about one pulse for yes and three for no? Please let me know if you understand.

Finn waits for the answering pulse. He uses its duration to calculate, going forward, the duration of a single pulse. Assuming that it arrives, he continues with the following:

"Thank you! If we need to spell things I can work something out, but I think 'yes' and 'no' will suffice for the time being. My first question: are you, or were you recently, human?"

Assuming that he gets a yes...

"Second question: are you Dr. Contos?"
 
Finn collects himself and glances at the researchers to see how they have reacted to this.
The four of them seemed completely absorbed in what might happen.

"This is actually great; we can communicate. How about one pulse for yes and three for no? Please let me know if you understand.
One pulse follows on the console.

"Thank you! If we need to spell things I can work something out, but I think 'yes' and 'no' will suffice for the time being. My first question: are you, or were you recently, human?"
Another single pulse follows.

"Second question: are you Dr. Contos?"
"The FTL expert?" Fuchs asks quietly to his wife who nods sharply with a quick "yeah, yeah" while urging him to be quiet.

There is a significant delay of about a minute, in contrast to the instant responses previously. However a single pulse follows eventually.
 
Finn ponders to consider the cause of the slow response. Perhaps the entity's ability to express itself is in flux; the researchers did say that the voice was periodic. Or perhaps it is only partly Dr. Contos. Or even lying.

"Dr. Contos, we're going to see what we can do to reincorporate you. I'm going to call for Dr. Coombs and we'll puzzle this out. It may take a little bit, but now we have a way to communicate, so there is a lot of hope. Once I relay this to the authorities and your old research team, we can keep talking if you're up for it. And when we can't talk, for whatever reason," Finn looks at the weather researchers, "maybe we can play some music or audio books to alleviate the boredom. Does this sound good to you?"
Finn gets on the mission channel to send another message.

"Finn here. It appears we're found Dr. Contos. I've established communication - I talk, she signals 'yes' or 'no.' I'll keep talking to her while I wait for my ride.

"I recommend sending a scientific team along with a security detail. We need to get in touch with Dr. Coombs to see what we can do to get her back among us. Then we can explore our options," he finishes.
Finn turns back to Fuchs and the other researchers. "I'm sorry, but I think we may have a bigger scientific issue here than the weather patterns of Titan. This station may end up being commandeered for the time being. Frankly, I think it's safer for you to leave on the return trip. I'm not a scientist, but we obviously have some unprecedented spacetime anomalies going on here. After all, the whole reason I'm here is because I was teleported from a deep sea base about 150km from here about an hour ago."

OOC: In the time before my ride arrives, I want to ask this entity a whole bunch of questions. Here's a list of things I'd like to ask, assuming reception persists and a singularity doesn't appear within the next hour. Here they are:
  • Can she hear everything happening in this room? Or does it need to be spoken into the radio?
  • Is Dr. Contos in a physical space with a physical body?
  • Did she enter this state willingly? If not, was it a mishap? Forced upon her?
  • Does she want to return to her old life?
  • Is she in great distress? Pain, fear, confusing, etc.?
  • Does she view the Inner Way cult in a positive light?
  • Is the entity that I met at the Visitation Site friendly?
  • Is teleportation safe?
  • Is she in contact with anyone else at this time?
  • Are there any other places that she's in contact with?
  • Are there any other beings that she's in contact with?
That's all I can think of for the time being. I'm sure Lassiter will have some ideas.
 
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"Finn here. It appears we're found Dr. Contos. I've established communication - I talk, she signals 'yes' or 'no.' I'll keep talking to her while I wait for my ride.

"I recommend sending a scientific team along with a security detail. We need to get in touch with Dr. Coombs to see what we can do to get her back among us. Then we can explore our options," he finishes.
Koga acknowledges and confirms the request. A member of the team at the FTL lab says they can get Coombs on the line for Finn, they just need to wake him up.

"I'm sorry, but I think we may have a bigger scientific issue here than the weather patterns of Titan. This station may end up being commandeered for the time being. Frankly, I think it's safer for you to leave on the return trip. I'm not a scientist, but we obviously have some unprecedented spacetime anomalies going on here. After all, the whole reason I'm here is because I was teleported from a deep sea base about 150km from here about an hour ago."
Fuch nods to the rest of family.

"Makes sense. We'll just pack up before they get. Try not to..." he searches for words "...implode the place or anything. I like my work after all" he says with a smile and they begin getting ready.

After submitting his questions and receiving some responses and waiting a few minutes Finn eventually sees a large vehicle pull up outside. Two individuals in hazard suits get out, along with three members of Titan security armed with SMGs.

OOC: A brief yes/no to each of these:
  • And when we can't talk, for whatever reason," Finn looks at the weather researchers, "maybe we can play some music or audio books to alleviate the boredom. Does this sound good to you? Yes
  • Can she hear everything happening in this room? Significant pause then Yes
  • Is Dr. Contos in a physical space with a physical body? No
  • Did she enter this state willingly? Yes
  • Does she want to return to her old life? Yes
  • Is she in great distress? Yes.
  • Pain, fear, confusing, etc.? Yes to fear alone
  • Does she view the Inner Way cult in a positive light? No
  • Is the entity that I met at the Visitation Site friendly? A very long pause, then Yes
  • Is teleportation safe? No, repeated twice.
  • Is she in contact with anyone else at this time? Pause, then No
  • Are there any other places that she's in contact with? Yes
  • Are there any other beings that she's in contact with? No
 
Finn briefly gets on the horn.

"Administrator Koga, it looks like your people have arrived. I'll spend some time handing off operations to them and then I guess I'll be heading back."
Finn is a tiny bit suspicious of how quickly this team arrived, and even though he requested security personnel, the sight of their weapons makes him a little paranoid. He's waiting to hear verification from Koga that these are her people, and he's keeping his weapons at hand but not in hand. Finn definitely wants to find out who they all report to if they are legit.
"Makes sense. We'll just pack up before they get. Try not to..." he searches for words "...implode the place or anything. I like my work after all" he says with a smile and they begin getting ready.
"Thanks, and...sorry. Not that I have any control over this. Once you're ready to depart, you'll probably have to help explain a few things to these newcomers," Finn replies.

To Dr. Contos, Finn speaks aloud to the room. "As you can see, these civilians and I are on our way out. But I'm still on the case. I'm going to give the newcomers instructions on how to communicate with you and keep you entertained in your current state. And I'm going to do whatever I can to get you reincorporated. To that end, I have a few final questions."

OOC: Here's what Finn asks Dr. Contos:
  • Can you hear things back in the lab?
  • Can you communicate with me in this manner when I am there?
  • Will Dr. Coombs be able to help you?
  • Can I trust Dr. Coombs?
After verifying that they are on the up-and-up, Finn briefs the arriving team on the state of Dr. Contos, how to talk to her, the need to keep her occupied because she must be bored as hell, etc. He also emphasizes that there are a lot of unknowns here and they could tread very lightly. Finn would hate for Titan to be annihilated in a spacetime anomaly.
 
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In reponse to Finn's questions Contos pulses back:
  • Can you hear things back in the lab? A bit of a delay, then Yes
  • Can you communicate with me in this manner when I am there? Again a delay and then Yes
  • Will Dr. Coombs be able to help you? Yes
  • Can I trust Dr. Coombs? Yes
After verifying that they are on the up-and-up
They seem to be. Right gear, right permits and they carry a digital copy of the instruction from Koga.

One of the science team introduces himself as a Dr. Demopolous. Middle aged, portly, pony tail of jet black hair. He seems to study Finn slightly, with an slight smile before speaking. "So you want us to keep her occupied. I was thinking. I could ask her rudimentary questions about teleportation theory and facts from her biography. Verify it's her. What do you think?"
 
I could ask her rudimentary questions about teleportation theory and facts from her biography. Verify it's her. What do you think?
Finn replies, "I thought that went without saying, Dr. Demopolous. As though you could restrain yourself! But you have to sleep sometime. Don't forget, this person is trapped in a bodiless void. Do you think she sleeps? I suppose you will find out. I'm just very concerned for Dr. Contos' psychological well-being, as this must be a very stressful ordeal, to say the least. Imagine for a moment! Do you have any mental health experts on your team?

"Also, don't forget, we don't really understand this phenomenon. There's a lot of energy and physical weirdness at play here. Just make sure you don't destroy Titan, OK? And call me if you have any questions. As far as I know, I'm one of the first humans who has been successfully teleported, so that should be worth something."

OOC: Finn will attend to the details and answer any questions, and then he'll be glad to leave.
 
Do you have any mental health experts on your team?
"Not with us right now, I'm sorry to say. Perhaps we can call somebody in"

"Also, don't forget, we don't really understand this phenomenon. There's a lot of energy and physical weirdness at play here. Just make sure you don't destroy Titan, OK? And call me if you have any questions. As far as I know, I'm one of the first humans who has been successfully teleported, so that should be worth something."
"Understood. I'd like to hear more about your experience at some point, but I guess there's no time now. Suffice it to say we'll try to keep things relatively sedate. Anything odd starts happening we'll give you a shout"

Wallace looks toward the console with wonder and at the distorted walls with a little trepidation.

OOC: Finn will attend to the details and answer any questions, and then he'll be glad to leave.
Finn deals with relatively minor queries, such as double checking what the pulses are like before he is able to leave.

On his way back Koga sends a message asking him where in the colony he wants to head to. She suggests the Admin complex if he wants some sleep, just to keep him safe.
 
OOC: At this point, is it viable for us to regroup?
 
OOC: At this point, is it viable for us to regroup?
OOC: Yes actually. Just pick a place. Either somewhere you know already or I could put a map of the colony up over the next day or two if you want a broader range to pick from.
 
OOC: This is my bad! I had missed the end of Séadna Séadna's last post and I was waiting for the reunion to happen. Actually, now that I think of it, I intended to make a post that I don't see here.

Might as well make this one public...


Finn thanks Koga for the suggestion with a tired smile. He hasn't had a full night of sleep since they unfroze him, and another month of stasis is starting to feel like a welcome rest. Finn heads back to the Admin Complex for the recommended night of sleep, sending Lassiter a text to let him know that they should meet up for food after his planned coma.
 
OOC: I'm going to assume Lassiter chooses to meet up and get sleep himself. If this is wrong I can correct it.

As Finn is driven across the surface of Titan and Lassiter's team pull out from the cave system, stable video contact becomes possible again.

Finn's vehicle eventually hits a valley that leads into the large canyon containing the city. Finally he comes to a stop in an underground parking facility. The elevator up is silent as he heads to his room on the fourth floor.

A simple affair. Desk, terminal, bed, coffee machine, light blue walls and a generic painting of Saturn on the wall.

Lassiter's team are greeted by Titan authorities at the rendevous point, who then take the prisoners from his team. They hear a rumble shortly after as the cave containing the cult base collapses. Lassiter is then sent back in a tram to the Admin complex where he is shown a room like Finn's.

A nice long sleep follows for both. They awake to simulated chirping and a morning vista on the wall painting replacing the one on Saturn. It displays a brief pop up showing the canteen is on the second floor.
 
After some sleep and freshening up, Finn contacts Lassiter.

"Coffee and baklava?"

After arranging to meet for breakfast, Finn sets up a meeting with Koga so everyone can be briefed and the next steps are clear. Finally, he summarizes the wild events of the last day in a report that he sends to his trusted channels.
 
After arranging to meet for breakfast, Finn sets up a meeting with Koga so everyone can be briefed and the next steps are clear. Finally, he summarizes the wild events of the last day in a report that he sends to his trusted channels.
Koga messages back that she'll has a meeting room ready on third floor for whenever Finn and Lassiter are finished breakfast and catching up.

OOC: If you and Smith Smith when to skip ahead to this just let me know.
 
OOC: I'm fine with the skip although I'm not sure if I left out anything big from what I've told Lassiter. Probably not, but it just felt like so much happened.
 
OOC: Thought of something...

"Lassiter, one thing I didn't tell the scientists yet, and intend to keep in-house for now...Dr. Contos can also communicate with us in the lab the same way she spoke to me at the weather station. I want to get in there later and ask her some more questions and also keep tabs on what they're doing at the weather station. It's not that I don't trust them with this, it's that I don't trust anyone with this."
 
OOC: Did I miss a breakdown post of your adventures? I suppose you'd need one from me. We could do it as our 'report' to Koga in-story
 
Finn and Lassiter head up to the meeting room on the third floor.

The room itself is fairly bare. Light sky blue walls, a ringed wooden conference table with eight people sitting at it and behind that a large window that looks out onto the colonial city. A few high rise buildings, none are truly skyscrapers, glitter in the sunlight magnified by the dome above.

60d22e3ab537ec77d33bc8c1b3425d75.jpg

"It's no Earth" Koga says, speaking to Lassiter as she approaches. She gestures toward the table. "These are the highest ranking government officials here on Titan..." the people seated are all in their 50s-80s, you recognise one as the head of police you met earlier "...there is obviously plenty to go through, but we'd like to hear your thoughts first"

OOC: However you want to do this is fine, e.g. just a quick "I tell them everything" or if you want to give a short report as mentioned above. Or whatever.
 
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OOC: I'll write some of what Finn would say here, just to set the tone and also recap anything Smith Smith might have missed. Forgive me if I get any details wrong; I should have made consolidated notes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as I'm sure you know, my name is Finn Shah, and I was sent here at the request of <corporation> to assist with the investigation of the three murders that occurred here roughly one month (?) ago. I'll briefly summarize our findings and experiences, take any questions, and listen to your feedback. I'm sure that my colleague and I will have some questions of our own. Then, I hope we can come to an agreement over the next steps to take.

"Myself and my colleague Mr. Lassiter, along with Mr. Cooper, were contracted to collaborate on this investigation. In very short order, we found some very worrisome information, and after we were attacked by cultists armed with dangerous technology, we contacted Administrator Koga and police chief <chief name here>, and together we agreed that immediate action needed to be taken. This all occurred less than a day after we had arrived.

"To that end, we determined to raid all known sites for the Inner Way cult, arrest their members and confiscate any questionable or dangerous technology. We broke into several teams so we could simultaneously hit the Visitation Site, the primary church, the teleportation lab and the cult's headquarters. Cooper and I led the raid on the Visitation Site, while Mr. Lassiter led the arrests at the headquarters.

"In the process of doing so, we encountered and discovered a number of things that were alternately very intriguing and extremely concerning. I will summarize the findings from the Visitation Site, while my friend here can discuss the headquarters. Unfortunately, nobody here participated in the securing of the lab or church, so until we are briefed on those, we are not in a position to discuss them. Perhaps the chief can say something about that.

"The raid on the Visitation Site initially went very well. We were able to convince their heavily-armed mercenary to switch sides and so avoid a great deal of bloodshed. We managed to arrest all the cult members we found on the vessel, as well as secure a trove of digital information stored on their drive array.

"Things took a turn when we descended into the cult's inner sanctum. We encountered what appeared to be a non-human sentient life form. The lore of the Inner Way indicates that their founder had an encounter with an alien being of some sort, so it is very possible that this being was one in the same. Was it truly an alien? We had no chance to examine the entity, so for all I know, it could be an artificial life form, robot or even a hologram. But I wouldn't rule out an alien encounter, which would make this one of the more startling findings of this investigation.

"In any case, the being advanced immediately upon me and we discharged our weapons. Almost immediately, I was instantly teleported to a site 150 km from here, near an existing weather station. At the station, I regained contact with the mission and requested pickup. While I was waiting, I experienced another anomaly. Apparently, the researchers at the station had been periodically hearing a 'voice,' accompanied by electronic distortion. While I was there, I witnessed the same voice and distortion, and I also observed spatial distortion. This was apparently being caused by yet another entity, this one claiming to be the Dr. Contos who was supposedly murdered. We established communication via 'pulses' of distortion used to signal yes or no. I promised her we would do what we can to restore her to corporeal human existence, and left the research station in the hands of a team of scientists and security.

"Upon returning, I learned that the Visitation Site mission was a nominal success, but Mr. Cooper had been lost. I have no further details at this time about the mercenary's account, but I would like to hear that.

"At this time, there are still a few open questions. The ones that concern me are:
  • What happened to Mr. Cooper?
  • What is the nature of the entity we encountered in the Visitation Site?
  • Can Dr. Contos be restored to her body?
  • What can Dr. Contos tell us?
  • What is on the data drives that were recovered?
  • What are your plans regarding teleportation technology and the laboratory?
  • Are there existing branches of the Inner Way that we should concern ourselves with?
  • Which parties have the necessary information to build their own teleportation devices?
"Please be aware that I have been making regular reports to my supervisor and other parties off-planet. They will want an update on the situation as soon as possible.

"Finally, before I surrender the floor, I'd like to express my appreciation for Administrator Koga for understanding the severity of the situation and being so cooperative in addressing it. I have been impressed by what I've seen of Titan's leadership and I'm sure we can resolve this situation together.

"Thank you."
 
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Eyes wide, Lassiter curses under his breath at the intense and thorough report from his colleague.

"The headquarters raid was a nominal success and succinctly less intense than Mr Shah's experience. I split my teams up to ensure that firstly, we stopped the cult in their tracks in case they had any tricks up their sleeve such as destroying evidence. Secondly, we wanted minimal to no casualties. We succeeded on that point as I was able to talk down the most egregious and violent opposition, thankfully."

"The interesting points of note from the headquarters was that they had a teleporter pointed to the visitation site, a functioning teleporter that is. Clearly, it has been in use for a long time. In addition to this, they had an AI in use to help them calculate these travels from point to point. The AI and I had a conversation that basically resulted in me learning that Dr Contos was increasingly and obsessively teleporting - but not for specific destinations, but to extend the period of transit time she had. I posit that something that exists in the ... I have no word for it as I am not a scientist but I guess the 'void' between locations was Contos' focus and obsession."

"When the earthquakes began, the AI was at risk. I was able to successfully retrieve it's memory banks for the purposes of further investigation. It wished to assist as it felt an affinity for Contos and hoped to help figure out what happened to her - with Shah's report it's clear that we can potentially also help her. Maybe."

"Either way, I have also sent a transmission to Earth but I have to say, ladies and gentlemen, this situation is fucking strange. Pardon my language but you have a scandal on your hands. If you wish for it to be resolved quietly then your best hope is for us to get to the bottom of it to be able to see the big picture."

"We are no closer to figuring why the victims are dead in the first place as we've been sucked into a quagmire of cultist insanity and extraterrestrial beings and fucking teleportation devices. A brainless cult with that kind of power going unchecked for so long is bad for business, and a sour look for Titan."

OOC: Lassie is purposefully trying to get a rise out of the cabinet, he is scanning the room for any reactions that are out of the ordinary - indignation about insulting the cult, or lack of emotion about the future of the colony.
 
OOC: Very brief bit to understand what Koga is saying later in this post.
Jupiter's four major moons are a single nation that's basically run by its mega-corportations. Founded to allow them to deal with each other fairly. They are advanced technologically and generally regarded as shady.
Mars is also a single independent nation.
Earth is still a collection of nations like today, though with superblock unions like the EU being more common. The Moon and Titan, as well as some space stations and asteroids are United Nations property. Under the jurisdiction of all nations of the Earth (like Antarctica). Titan is effectively independent though and somewhat forgotten about by the Solar System at large.


Unfortunately, nobody here participated in the securing of the lab or church, so until we are briefed on those, we are not in a position to discuss them. Perhaps the chief can say something about that.
The chief of police nods in Finn's direction and holds up two reports in clear binding. He doesn't interrupt Finn however.

As Finn continues his speech the panel look reasonably calm. Their focus on what he is saying is intense however. The comments about an alien being do cause a few glances with one of the younger members, a man in his 50s of Indian extraction, shaking his head. As Finn continues there is clearly a nervous atmosphere in the room.

"Finally, before I surrender the floor, I'd like to express my appreciation for Administrator Koga for understanding the severity of the situation and being so cooperative in addressing it. I have been impressed by what I've seen of Titan's leadership and I'm sure we can resolve this situation together.
Koga gives a warm smile to Finn before quickly going serious and opening the floor for Lassiter.

Initially the response to Lassiter's speech is almost relief at how mundane it is in comparison. Until the remarks about Contos come up. This only compounds the nervousness Finn had created, with some of the members putting their head in their hands or wiping their foreheads. However...

Either way, I have also sent a transmission to Earth
All of the seated members either jerk in their seats or glance in horror to each other (OOC: You'd have no reason to think you shouldn't have sent the transmission, i.e. there's no setting detail Lassiter would know that you're missing).

The admonishments that follow from Lassiter are greeted with sheepishness. With one member even grimacing. It is clear to them that they have messed up and this can be read on their expressions with ease.

"Fúck" one says when Lassiter finishes. "He'll trigger the Contact Mandate".

"It's not an alien" the Indian man says shaking his head again.

A small argument erupts which Koga settles by shouting "Enough!". She turns to Finn and Lassiter.

"Thank you both..." however even she pauses as she tries to collect her thoughts.

"It is difficult to know where to start.

Contos may be trying to contact us from...nowhere...if I understand the report the FTL lab submitted.
There is some kind of being under the colony
We are not yet sure about the other murders and their motives.
And Lassiter here is correct. The Inner Way cult was seriously misjudged and worse from what we've seen and given that marine at the Encounter Site they're being funded by Jupiter's megacorporations.

Gentlemen we are a small colony. If that thing Mr. Shah saw was an alien...a genuine alien...then we all know what that means. Earth will come here. United Nations supercruisers will appear over our skies in a few months and I suspect Titan will be shut down. And they'd be correct to do this. We cannot deal with something of that importance. We have a few weeks to gain more information and get a lid on this thing or learn that it's something too big for us"

She searches for words once more. The Indian gentleman who shook his head earlier speaks.

"It's probably an aritifical life form as Mr. Shah said. Earth will reach the same conclusion. A site connected to a secret Jovian research project with something that looks like a Jovian bioweapon...."

Another argument breaks out. Many countering with the obvious point that it teleported Finn.

As the argument goes on Koga gets up to speak to Lassiter and Finn.

"You've done a lot here. This all has grown beyond the initial scope of your investigation so you don't need to get dragged into any of these....tangents. Your formal obligation extends to the murders alone and thus by extension you can be as involved as you want with what we'll currently call Contos" she says in a clam tone. "Don't feel the need to deal with that thing you encountered, be present for further operations against the cult or to start taking on the Jovian megacorporations. You can have access to anything recovered from the data drives and the contents of the AI memory crystals recovered by yourself Lassiter...obviously"
 
my name is Finn Shah, and I was sent here at the request of <corporation>
OOC: To clear this up for you since it was never directly said. Lassiter is part of an interplanetary police force based on Earth and Cooper also has a determined employer though he hasn't mentioned it to you . Some of this developed organically. Given the way the game has gone you've never been specified beyond being sent by some powerful group after being personally nominated by a member of the cult.

To be clear the group itself was contacted to send a list of representatives and somebody in the cult picked you to look into Papadakis's death in particular.

As ex-military and given your origin your employers could be:
Martian Government (neutral representatives under interplanetary law)
A Martian Megacorp (involved in funding the mining industry so have a right to be involved)
Mars University (FTL theory developed there and they are academically involved, though remotely)

There's no setting detail that makes one a "terrible" choice.
 
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Given the way the game has gone you've never been specified beyond being sent by some powerful group after being personally nominated by a member of the cult.
Oops! I forgot I was probably involved with that.
To be clear the group itself was contacted to send a list of representatives and somebody in the cult picked you to look into Papadakis's death in particular.

As ex-military and given your origin your employers could be:
Martian Government (neutral representatives under interplanetary law)
A Martian Megacorp (involved in funding the mining industry so have a right to be involved)
Mars University (FTL theory developed there and they are academically involved, though remotely)

There's no setting detail that makes one a "terrible" choice.
My assumption was that I was sent by a corporation, especially in light of this coming trade deal. Just to keep things consistent, let's go with the Martian Megacorp.
 
"You've done a lot here. This all has grown beyond the initial scope of your investigation so you don't need to get dragged into any of these....tangents. Your formal obligation extends to the murders alone and thus by extension you can be as involved as you want with what we'll currently call Contos" she says in a clam tone.
Finn nods his head in understanding. "I appreciate that - I would like to see if I can help the good doctor in some way, if only to convey messages to her loved ones. If I can have access to Dr. Coombs and their lab, that would be extremely helpful. Also, please let me know if you learn anything about Mr. Cooper."
You can have access to anything recovered from the data drives and the contents of the AI memory crystals recovered by yourself Lassiter...obviously
"Thank you, I'd like to backup those drives and have Dr. Coombs take a look at the contents. We might find something to help Dr. Cantos. And if I find anything of value to you I will let you know immediately," Finn replies.

He purses his lips in thought, then continues. "I know you guys are primarily concerned about this...entity...but the teleportation technology may be just as concerning. Dr. Cantos indicated very strongly to me that it was extremely unsafe. Personally, I found the experience to be quite unpleasant. Let me emphasize that nobody, including the head researcher, seemed to really understand how it worked. Given what it can accomplish, I feel the need to emphasize that you're dealing with a technology that could destroy this moon and possibly quite a bit more. Be extremely careful.

"When I hear back from my employers, I wouldn't be surprised if they give me a new mandate. If that happens, of course it's up to you whether you want to cooperate with them. I'm just a shill for Mars-Minnesota Mining & Manufacture (4M)," Finn says with a wry smile.
 
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Finn nods his head in understanding. "I appreciate that - I would like to see if I can help the good doctor in some way, if only to convey messages to her loved ones. If I can have access to Dr. Coombs and their lab, that would be extremely helpful. Also, please let me know if you learn anything about Mr. Cooper."
"Nothing since the cave in. That Jovian marine made it out. In our employ now, but we'll leave what to do with him up to you. He's over in the Colonial Security complex across the road should you need him"

Personally, I found the experience to be quite unpleasant. Let me emphasize that nobody, including the head researcher, seemed to really understand how it worked. Given what it can accomplish, I feel the need to emphasize that you're dealing with a technology that could destroy this moon and possibly quite a bit more. Be extremely careful.
"Agreed. Their lack of understand is what concerns me the most in a way and some members of the council are in agreement. You were right to shut that thing down...."

She sighs.

"...some knowledge was procured to make that machine in an odd way..." she trails off thinking "...I'm not crazy about the idea of something built with mystical revelations from an alien"

When I hear back from my employers, I wouldn't be surprised if they give me a new mandate. If that happens, of course it's up to you whether you want to cooperate with them. I'm just a shill for Mars-Minnesota Mining & Manufacture (4M)
"4M products are reliable. 4M 4EVER as they say. I'm sold already" Koga says with a bit of a laugh.

"Good luck and stay safe. I'm granting you higher clearance across the colony so that you can access almost anything not under corporate jurisdiction. Public buildings should be all access. Oh and we should be getting responses back from Earth and Mars once we move out of Saturn's transmission dead zone later today. So you should get those messages then"

The committee's argument continues.
 
Finn assumes that the investigators are being dismissed. He leaves the meeting with Lassiter.

OOC: If Lassiter wants to do something else in the meeting, then we can resolve that before this post.

"Lassiter, I don't know if you're on the case anymore. I have at least a few loose ends that I want to wrap up, including talks with Coombs and Cantos. You're welcome to come with me if you're at loose ends or if you're still on the job - so far it's been a pleasure to work with such a pro.

"By the way, I really hope I didn't get ahead of myself in there. Was there something you wanted me to hold back?"

After any further discussion about the meeting, Finn segues, "Before I talk to anyone else, I've gotta report to the home office. Give me a minute."
Finn sends a full report to his employers, asking if they want him to come home or continue to act as their agent in any capacity. He emphasizes the danger and value of the teleportation technology, as well as the possibility of first contact with a sapient alien.

He also updates his personal contacts, and sends a special message to his favorite uncle in special forces.

"Uncle, I need you to do me a favor, but I promise you will approve when all is said and done. Please get hold of the highest security encryption you can find, military if you need it, and send me the cipher and your public key. Something that would take all the computers on Earth a century to crack. I'll have a very sensitive message to send you."

OOC: Finn will soon want to setup an email "dead-man switch" so that a specific piece of content will be sent after three days of him not clicking a button (or something like that). I just want to check if this is something fairly simple that doesn't require technical expertise.
 
Finn assumes that the investigators are being dismissed. He leaves the meeting with Lassiter.
OOC: If you mean dismissed from the meeting then basically yes. Or at least they've become so absorbed in arguing they've forgotten about you.

OOC: That's all fine. In about six hours in game you're going to get a burst of responses as Titan picks up data packages
 
OOC: Addendum
In his report, Finn requests of his contracting officer at 4M that if they want to keep employing him as their agent on Titan, they extend him a line of credit for any emergency expenses and put him in contact with any significant human resources they have here - anyone in authority, or conversely, anyone with ties to the "underground economy." This can be sent as an actual addendum if the rest of the report was already sent.
 
OOC:
The impression the council and Koga might have left you with is that your time here is done. Just to be clear this is not me wrapping up the game. Simply that the NPCs composing the council no longer consider your investigation their primary concern. They've released you from formal obligations beyond that specific task (i.e. they don't expect you to help with the cult etc) and though they are letting you continue the investigation they won't really involve themselves beyond this.

That's not to confine what you wish to do next. Also messages from your employer's will be arriving soon.
 
"Lassiter, I don't know if you're on the case anymore. I have at least a few loose ends that I want to wrap up, including talks with Coombs and Cantos. You're welcome to come with me if you're at loose ends or if you're still on the job - so far it's been a pleasure to work with such a pro.
"Until I hear back from Earth, I am curious enough to stick around and do what I can here. I am not the type to just bounce when a suit tells me they don't want my services any more. Believe me, this case has me very curious."

"I didn't expect you to hold anything back, and nor did I reserve anything... except that we managed to get the insider information from one of the would-be assassins. That council has no fuckin' hold over anything and their only worries stem from either corporation takeovers or UN interference. I am far more worried about the potentiality of a goddamn alien on site, as well as use of some very questionable teleportation technology."
 
OOC: If ye want me to fast forward to when you get the messages just let me know. I'll just put a list of locations here if you want to go somewhere first and to help orient you. It's places you've been to before or have been mentioned:

  1. FTL lab
  2. Admin Complex
  3. Police Complex (includes Forensics lab where Dr. Blix the pathologist is and also the prison)
  4. Renner's Apartment
  5. Cult's main church
  6. Visitation site
  7. Lake Mining Headquarters
  8. Nature Preserve Tunnels
  9. Lake Town (your previous accommodation)
  10. Cult Base (that Lassiter assaulted, crushed mostly in cave in)
  11. Other Research Labs (passed them on the way to the FTL lab)
  12. Shipping (where you first met Koga)
  13. Spaceport (up on the surface with your arrival ship)
  14. Colony's main power plant
  15. The Old Colony (the original outpost deeper in the tunnels, now abandoned)
 
"I didn't expect you to hold anything back, and nor did I reserve anything... except that we managed to get the insider information from one of the would-be assassins. That council has no fuckin' hold over anything and their only worries stem from either corporation takeovers or UN interference. I am far more worried about the potentiality of a goddamn alien on site, as well as use of some very questionable teleportation technology."
Finn sighs. "Agreed. Notice the laxity of their security...I was invited to copy the data drives to my heart's content. What's on them? Nobody knows, yet. We should find out soon. But I have a feeling that nothing will stop this tech from getting out there.

"You want to arrange to have Dr. Coombs meet us at the FTL lab? We can talk to him while Cantos listens, and then she can hopefully tell us if we should believe him. I'd also like to talk to that merc and find out about Cooper.

"Any other ideas?" Finn asks.

OOC: We still have access to places like the Visitation Site?
 
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